Repair What's Broken
by hanzoo
Summary: The story starts from the moment Skye joins the team, but under different circumstances. She knew Coulson before he died, now she's mad he didn't tell her he was alive. Now there are a few questions standing in front of her. Will she finaly find out who she is? Can the team be the family she always wanted but never had? Or will someone on the team become something more? (Skimmons)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi, guys. This is my first Agents of S.H.I.L.D. story so I hope you'll like it. English is not my first language, I'm Czech, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes. Let me know what you think, thank you...**

**hanzoo**

* * *

After Agent Ward left it is now only Coulson and Agent Hill in the room. They are both staring at the screens in silence for several minutes when Hill looks at her watch and speaks up.

"She should be here in about five minutes."

"I know." Coulson answers, knowing where Maria is going.

"She's going to kick your ass, you know?" she says and finally turns to look at him.

"I know."

"Do you think she'll say yes?"

"I don't know. It wouldn't be surprising if she said no, though." He sighs.

"I guess not. Getting her to trust you wasn't exactly easy. And after today…" she trails off, not wanting to actually say the words. She doesn't have to. Coulson finishes the thought for her.

"After today she might not trust me ever again. I know. But I have to try. You know as well as I do she could be a great asset to S.H.I.E.L.D."

They continue to wait quietly, both thrilled and dreading the upcoming conversation, until the door behind Maria opens and a young woman in her early twenties being lead by an agent.

She's wearing casual clothes, which makes her stand out a little here in a building where almost everyone wears a suit. She has a bag over her shoulder, which Coulson is sure, contains her lap top.

As she enters the room she doesn't notice him at first. Or she does but doesn't recognize him because she heads strait for Maria.

"Agent Hill." She greats the older woman politely and they shake hands.

"Skye, it's good to see you. How are you doing? It's been a while."

Skye shrugs her shoulders casually. "I'm doing good. But you know me, I don't need much as long as I have Wi-Fi." She smirks and Hill chuckles slightly.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you but would you mind telling me what exactly am I doing here?"

"Of course. I have an offer for you. How would you like to join one of our teams?"

"You want me to work for you?" Skye raises an eye brow in surprise.

Hill nods in confirmation and a smile spreads across her face as she watches Skye's face. Something tells her Skye would be willing to accept the offer.

"We are starting a new team. A mobile team on an airplane that will consist of two specialized agents, two scientists, a computer expert and the team leader. And we would like you to be a part of it as consultant. We've been keeping our eye on you for over three years and we believe you would be great asset to us as you showed in the past. Now what do you think?"

Skye stares at her for a moment, not knowing exactly what to say. _A team? Would she even be able to work in a team? She never had anyone in her life, she's always been alone. How does it even work?_

"Um, are you sure it's a good idea? I mean, I don't know the first thing about working in a team…"

"Skye, I know what you mean I wouldn't worry if I were you. You're smart and young and truthfully I think it would be good for you. And if I'm not mistaken you once mentioned you would like to become a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. one day."

"I said that, didn't I?" she sighs and stays quiet for a while, thinking. "Ok, let's say I say yes. What would I be doing and who are the others on the team?" Skye asks cautiously.

"Well let's see… You would be doing the same things we called you to help us with in the past plus I'm sure with your brain you would be able to help in other ways too during the cases. As for the other team members, I'm sure you've head of Agent Melinda May?" Hill asks half expecting the young woman to react the same as many others would.

She's pleasantly surprised when she only nods, no 'Cavalry' comment. That's good.

"I've heard of her, only rumors, though. Never met her in person before. But I thought she was on a desk job."

"She was but she changed her mind. She's one of the specialists and also the pilot. Ok, next Agent Grant Ward. Also a specialist. He just left here a couple minutes before you came. The team scientists are Agent Leo Fitz, a mechanical engineer, and Agent Jemma Simmons, a biochemist. They are not much older then you, they just finished the Academy but they truly are the best we have."

Skye nods, the information swirling in her head. She's seriously starting to consider Hill's offer. "And the leader?"

Suddenly Maria's smile fades a little and she turns to look at Coulson who was up until now just quietly observing the two women interact. Skye follows her gaze and her eyes widen at the realization of who exactly is standing right in front of her.

"Wha…" she stutters in shock. "You're dead. You…"

"Skye, I'm sorry I wanted to tell you but I couldn't. This information is only accessible to level seven agents." Coulson tries to explain.

"You've been alive this whole time. And… They told me you died in the Battle of New York." She turns an accusing eye to Hill. "_You _told me he was dead." Her voice is shaking with anger but at the same time she can't help the feeling of joy when she realizes this is really happening. Phil Coulson is alive.

She also can't the satisfaction she feels when Hill avoids looking her in the eye. She turns back to the older man.

Coulson nods and takes a step towards her. A step that Skye immediately takes back again. He sighs.

"And I was, Skye. I was dead for about forty seconds…"

"Eight seconds, Coulson." Hill intervenes.

Coulson rolls his eyes. "Ok, eight seconds. When I woke up in the hospital Director Fury told me I was officially dead and no one could know. Not even the Avengers know I'm alive. Skye, you have to believe me when I tell you I wanted you to know and that if I could I would tell you. But I understand I hurt you so if you want to hate me you can but please don't let this opportunity slip between your fingers just because of me."

As he finishes speaking both he and Maria patiently wait for Skye to say something.

"You are the team leader." It's a statement not a question. Coulson only nods and keeps quiet.

Skye stays there standing in front of them just staring at Coulson intently. Suddenly she takes the strap of her bag over her head and hugs Coulson so tightly it almost hurts. The older man is so shocked it takes him a few seconds to return the hug. Skye lets him go and steps away from him again to keep her distance.

"I'm still angry at both of you. And I probably will be for a while but that doesn't mean I'm not glad you're alive." She says not looking at either of them.

Coulson nods understandably. He didn't expect Skye to forgive him right away. He was actually prepared for the possibility of her never speaking to him again.

"Does this mean you would be willing to join the team?" Hill asks carefully not knowing what to expect.

Skye takes a deep breath and nods slowly. "Yes, I'll join your team. But don't expect me to forgive you anytime soon, AC."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN/ HIi so I hope you liked the first chapter, here's the second one. I don't know how often I will be able to post but I try to do so as soon as posible, thanks.**

**please review, follow... :)**

**hanzoo**

* * *

The next day Skye arrives at the airstrip at 7 AM just as Hill told her to. She parks her van near the plane, takes her bag from the back and gets out. There are agents and technicians everywhere. As soon as her feet touch the ground and she shuts the door an agent in a dark suit steps up to her van and reaches to open the door. Skye stops him by grabbing his hand.

"Hey, be careful with that. It's the only home I have. If anything happens to my van I will personally find you and…"

"Skye, stop threatening agents, please!" Coulson's voice interrupts her. She spins around to find him standing at the end of the cargo bay. "But if I were you, Agent Collins, I'd listen to her." He says then turns around and returns inside. The agent quickly nods, get's in the van and drives away, something Skye isn't really glad to see. She takes a deep breath and heads to the plane.

She can't help but smile as she sees her. Next to the dark SUV is a beautiful 1962 Chevrolet Corvette. Lola. She should have known Coulson wouldn't leave her behind.

Just as she's walking past her an agent reaches his hand to touch the red hood of the car.

"Don't touch Lola."

Once she's inside she sees a glass door that obviously lead to a lab. It's empty so she avoids the punching bag that's hanging from the ceiling and heads straight for the stairs. When she's at the top she's met with Coulson leaning against the bar clearly waiting for her.

"You're here. I was starting to think you changed your mind. Then I heard you threatening that agent." He says with a smile.

Skye smirks and walks over to him, looking around. "Yeah, yeah. So, this is really nice. So much nicer then my van. And cleaner. And you have a bar! Fury agreed to all this?" She asks, suspiciously raising her eye brow.

"He really did! I was surprised too. Come on, you can leave your bag here for now. Everyone's waiting in the command center." He says and without another word he walks away and Skye, of course, follows.

"Well, that is a big screen. Not as big as at the Hub but it'll do." That's the first thing she says, totally ignoring the people in the room causing her to miss the looks between the muscled guy and the little Chinese lady.

"Ok everyone, this is Skye, she's going to be our computer expert. Skye, this is Agent Melinda May, our pilot."

Skye finally turns away from the screen.

"Oh, sorry. It's nice to meet you Agent May. I've heard a lot about you." Skye says reaching over the table to shake the older woman's hand which she accepts.

"You too." That's it. Nothing else. _Oookey_.

"These are Agents Grant Ward, Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz. We call them FitzSimmons, they are like twins." Coulson continues. Skye shakes hand with everybody trying to ignore how soft Simmons' skin is and once she gets to Fitz she can't help but ask.

"Oh, Leo? Is that a short for something?"

"No." he says a little too quickly while Simmons says "yes" at the same time. She sees Ward smirk from the corner of her eye.

"So what is it? I promise I won't laugh." She says trying not to smirk, knowing if Fitz doesn't want to share it probably means it's embarrassing.

"Leopold." He mumbles while looking at the floor. Skye smiles at him, sure it's not exactly typical name but she's heard worse.

"That's not that bad, you have nothing to be embarrassed about." She says kindly. And now it's Simmons' turn to smile. She didn't expect that. Most people make fun of Fitz because of his name but this Skye seemed genuinely interested. It's nice.

"So um, Skye. Agent Coulson told us you two know each other. What is the story behind that?" She asks curiously.

Skye chuckles and looks at Coulson who smiles back at her. "Yeah that is a good one. You want to be the one to tell them, AC?"

"Skay here hacked S.H.I.E.L.D. with a laptop three years ago." He says and Skye thinks she might've heard a little pride in his voice.

"Wait, that was you?" Fitz interrupts. "I heard about that. And three years ago, you must have been what twenty? That's really impressive."

"I was nineteen, actually and it wasn't really that hard." She turns to Coulson. "But you could have been a little more gentle you know? That bag over my head and cuffs weren't really necessary. I would have gone with you willingly…maybe." At Coulson's raised eyebrow she gives up. "Ok, I would have run. I know."

"Skye, you did run. That's why we had to cuff you." Coulson says in amusment.

"Huh, I did, didn't I?" Skye smirks and nudges Coulson with her elbow.

May rolls her eyes at the exchange.

"I don't want to interrupt this memory lane but we should get in the air." May says, while already on her way to the cockpit. "You can finish this later."

"Ok, right. Simmons, can you show Skye her bunk? And then make sure everyone's buckled up." Coulson says follows May.

Jemma walks up to Skye and puts a hand on her arm not noticing how her muscles tense just a little. "Come on, I'll show you where you can put your things." She takes Skye back to the common room, where she takes her bag, and leads her to the side of the plane.

"And here we are, this is your bunk. On the left side is mine, on the right is Agent May, next to her is Ward and the last one is Fitz. Agent Coulson has his own room connected to his office." Simmons explains and Skye moves in and places her bag next to the bed.

"It's not anything special but it's nice. Not much space but we are on a plane after all." Simmons chuckles nervously.

"No, it's ok, I'm used to small spaces." Skye says but as she's still looking around the room she misses the confused look on Jemma's face. But she keeps quiet instead she gestures to the panel next to the door.

"Well, here is the panel, you can change the light setting and even activate the sound prove function if you want more privacy. You know, if you like loud music or anything."

Skye nods her understanding and turns back to the scientist.

"We should go outside and buckle up, Agent May is going to start the plane soon." Simmons says and they both go out and sit down next to Fitz and Ward who are already buckled up.

Skye can't help herself. She keeps glancing at Ward nervously. She's getting a weird vibe from him. Somehow his posture reminds her of Joe so she's really glad she's not sitting right next to him. She tries to direct her attention to something else so she focuses on the feel of the engines running that suddenly start to vibrate the seat she's sitting in. A few seconds later she feels the plane getting off the ground.

_This is it_, she tells herself. _There is no going back._


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hi, here is the third chapter, this time a little longer. Still no Skimmons but it will be soon I promise. Hope you'll enjoy this :)**

**Happy reading and plese leave me review.**

**And thanks to all fmy ollowers...**

**hanzoo**

* * *

Coulson follows May into the cockpit in silence. He watches as she sits in the pilot seat and starts to prepare for the flight. He sits in the co-pilot seat next to her, buckles up and waits patiently. He feels the vibrations of the engines through the seat and he knows soon the will be far away from this place and instead flying above the clouds.

Once they are in the air he watches May's face. He sees her normally tight mask relax. He knows she loves flying. Cockpit is her safe place. No one is allowed here except, on occasion, Coulson himself.

They sit, not talking.

May calmly flying the plane, Coulson watching the sun behind the window.

"So… Skye is here." May says after a while. She never met her and she doesn't know her well. She knows only what Coulson told her about the girl on the few occasions the met up before New York happened. Which isn't much. What she absolutely knows though is that Coulson cares about her.

Coulson doesn't turn to look at her, he just continues to stare ahead. He takes a deep breath and releases it slowly.

"Yeah."

"And why aren't you happy about that? I thought you two were close. And a few moments ago you seemed alright with her being here."

"I am. And I am happy that she's here. It's just…" he pauses. May doesn't interrupt, letting him voice his thoughts in his out time. "After New York, Skye was told that I died."

Now May understands what he's trying to say. What he's so worried about. But she keeps quiet.

"She didn't want to believe it at first. Then she hugged me. I didn't expect that, she never hugged me before. Never in the three years I've known her. What I expected was yelling and a slap in the face if not something worse. But she hugged me. And then she told me she wouldn't forgive me for a while. And I just can't help but think…"

"That she might not _ever_ forgive you." May finishes for him. Coulson nods slowly, quietly.

"I understand why you would think that. But I think you're wrong. She will forgive you eventually, there might be some of the yelling you mentioned but she will."

"And how do you know that?" he asks as he finally looks away from the view and towards May, who's wearing an unreadable expression on her face, same as always.

"I've forgiven you, haven't I?"

"Have you?"

"Yes."

More silence. Something Coulson is used to where Melinda May is concerned.

"Care to finish that story?" She says suddenly, surprising Coulson with her interest.

"Um… and where did I left off?"

"You only said Skye hacked S.H.I.E.L.D. and that you had to cuff her, before I interrupted you."

"Oh, yes." He chuckles and starts telling May a story about how a girl named Skye entered his life.

* * *

_A movement in the corner of his eye catches his attention. He was just preparing to open the door of the blue van when a girl suddenly appears at the entrance of the alley. She can't be more than twenty. As soon as she sees them, Coulson and his partner, she stops. He sees her hand tighten on the strap of the bag over her shoulder. She takes a few steps back._

"_Hey!" he shouts after her and starts towards her. At the first sign of movement her way the girl turns around and sprits out of the alley. Coulson hot on her heals._

"_Stop! We just want to talk." He calls after her but she doesn't stop, she speeds up. She runs among the by standers on the sidewalk and the cars on the street to the other side. One almost hits her but the driver thankfully manages to stop. _

_Coulson runs faster. He's not exactly young anymore, he didn't have to chase someone in a long time. But he finally catches up to here. People around them seem to understand that they could get hurt if they stood in their way so Coulson has a clear path in front of him but so does the girl. After another hundred meters she takes a left into another alley. When he rounds the corner he sees her almost at the end of it. There is a fence a dumpster and she tries to climb over it but before gets the chance Coulson is right behind her. He grabs at the back of her shirt and pulls her to the ground._

"_Let me go!" she shouts and tries to get free when his back up arrives. He pulls her up on her feet. Her arms are fleeing and he knows she tries to hit him._

"_Stop. Stay calm, okay? I don't want to hurt you." he says while trying to hold her hands behind her back._

_But it's like she doesn't hear him. Suddenly her right elbow catches his nose. A sharp pain erupts in his face for a few seconds as he hears a crack and then blood rushing past the corn of his mouth and down the chin. 'Great, she broke my nose.'_

_He finally has a firm grip on her wrists but she just doesn't stop struggling so he presses her against the wall and waits for her to calm down._

_She finally stops but he can see determination in her face. It's not going to be ease to get her to talk._

"_Ok, are you calm? What's your name?" he asks but receives only silence in return. "Ok you don't have to talk now. There is going to be plenty of time for talking once you're in the interrogation room. Jones," he turns to his colleague, "hand me the handcuffs."_

_Coulson secures her hands and the bag hands to Agent Jones. He opens it and finds a laptop inside._

_After she is cuffed they lead her to their SUV, put a bag over her head, shove her in and close the door behind her._

_Coulson is standing in the observation room watching the girl sitting in the chair, fidgeting. Her hands are no longer bound._

_They brought her in about twenty minutes ago and left her in the room alone. Since then he's been thinking how to approach the situation._

"_Are you going to start already or are going to just stand here and watch her till one of you falls asleep?" comes a voice from behind him, but he doesn't takes his eyes off the girl. _

"_I was just about to walk in. Care to join me, Maria?"_

"_This teenage girl is capable of hacking S.H.I.E.L.D.! Of course I'm going in with you, Phil."_

_He nods his agreement and they walk in. _

_The girl stays quiet. She's watching them cautiously. Hill takes a seat in the chair opposite her while Coulson remains standing. _

"_My name is Agent Phil Coulson and this is Agent Maria Hill." Coulson introduces them. "What's your name?" When they searched her belongings there was nothing to indicate who this girl was._

_Nothing._

"_Back in the alley you weren't quite talkative. Which is understandable, you were pushed against a wall. But right now, you need to talk to us. Because we are not letting you go just like that. You are here for a reason. So I'll ask you again. What is your name?"_

_The girl stares at him, her brow furrowed in suspicion. After a few seconds she hesitantly opens her mouth to answer._

"_Skye." She says, her tone defiant._

_Odd name, Phil thinks._

"_What's your real name?"Hill asks, her brow raised._

"_That is my real name."_

"_Ok, let's say I believe you. What's your last name?"_

_The girl, Skye, keeps quiet, averting her eyes. She clenches her fists so tightly her knuckles are white, Phil notes._

"_Answer the question, please." He demands, loudly. She flinches slightly at the loud noise. Weird, he wasn't that loud was he? He wasn't shouting or anything._

_She looks at him sharply. "You can't answer a question, if you don't know the answer." She says bitterly._

"_You don't know your own name?" Hill asks in surprise. Skye looks shaker her head and looks away._

"_Ok, so Skye, do you know why are you here?"Coulson asks._

"_I have an idea." Skye says._

"_You hacked your way through our system. It took us a while but we finally traced you into that alley. What were you looking for? Were you trying to sell secret information?"_

"_No." comes a simple reply. Nothing else and she still doesn't look at either of them._

"_You seem like a smart girl. What are you, eighteen? Nineteen?" Skye remains silent but nods slightly in conformation. 'Ok so eighteen _or_ nineteen'. "Then you must be really smart if you were able to do what you did. It also means that you know, or at least you have an idea, of what might happen to you if you don't cooperate." He pauses for effect. He makes a few steps towards the desk and leans on his hands closer to Skye. She leans back, he can see a flicker of something in her eyes. Fear, maybe. "What were you looking for, Skye?"_

"_Answers." She says quietly, still leaned back in the chair._

"_To questions about what?" Hill asks. She's getting quiet impatient with the girl._

_Skye looks her right in the eye, her face seems to darken. Her features are harder and suddenly it looks like there is sitting someone far older in that chair. Someone worn down by life. Not a teenager. That's not how a child is supposed to look like, Maria thinks._

"_About me."_

_The two agents look at each other. This actually wasn't that surprising. After observing Skye through the window and up close, after hearing that the girl has no last name and the name she has sounds as if she gave it to herself, it actually makes sense._

* * *

"We interrogated her for over three more hours but this was all we got out of her. She kept saying she didn't sell anything to anyone nor was it her intention in the first place. She's stubborn as hell, there wasn't much we could do. So we checked everything. Her laptop, her van, her phone. There was no indication she was selling secrets.

"She was clean, literally. We ran her fingerprints, her DNA, face recognition. Nothing. It was as if she never existed. Later she told me she erased everything she could find about herself once she reached that level of computer skill."

"So what happened next? Did you just let her go?" May asks, doubt clear in her voice.

"Of course not. We made a deal, official one. She would be free to go if she agreed to keep out of trouble and to help if with anything if we needed her to. That didn't happen often. Only three times, I think. She was to be officially a consultant. We offered Skye an apartment but she refused. She said she had her van and that was enough for her. I couldn't believe it when she told me she already lived in that little crappy van for more than a year."

May just silently listens, feeling bad for the girl who she knows is now somewhere at this plane. A girl she doesn't know but wants to. Someone who had this effect on Agent Phillip Coulson must be an interesting person at least.

"She accepted and we monitored her since then. Maria and I made it a point to check on her a few times a month and we grew kind of close. There is so much I still don't know about her. Most of what she shared with me was because of slip ups when I bribed her with chocolate ice cream." He chuckles humorlessly. "It took a long time for her to open up to me at least a little. After all I did handcuff her and threw a bag over her head. But somehow she did and now I'm afraid that trust she had in me, however small it might have been, is now gone."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi, sorry for the delay, I've been busy with school and everything. **

**Did you guys see the last episode? It was really great and I can't wait to see what's going to happen tommorow. I've been thinking about how to write about Skye's parents and I decided on a different story line than on the show so I apologize to those of you who expacted it to be that way.**

**Also, if you have any ideas on what you would like to see in this story let me know in your review, or PM and I'll try to do something about it.**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think...**

**hanzoo**

* * *

Once they are in the air and are free to move again, Skye gets up, off the chair. She's trying to get further away from Agent Ward, though she does it as subtly as possible. The others quickly follow and they all head into their respective directions.

Ward goes to the kitchen, Fitz to his bunk.

But Simmons levels her step with Skye.

"So, do you want to come with me to the lab? I have to make a few arrangements to our equipment and I thought we could talk." The British woman says kindly, waiting for an answer from Skye who seems to hesitate for a second. Then she smiles and nods.

"Sure, that would be cool. You can tell me all about this crazy plane." What she really wants to say is that Jemma could tell her about herself, but she doesn't. Because when you ask personal questions you usually get asked in return. And that is something Skye doesn't want to get into, considering she only just met the woman.

Their conversation is light, just small talk at first. All the while Skye is watching the blonde, trying to not get caught. Then the topic shifts to the plane and the team.

She found out they call the plane the Bus for a reason unknown to her. She knows now that Jemma and Fitz knew each other since before the Academy and are practically inseparable but are just best friends. That's a fact that Skye is somehow pleased to hear.

"So, how long are you on the team?" Skye asks.

"Oh, not long. Agent Coulson put us together only about three weeks ago. When we agreed to join May was already in. So for three weeks it was only May, Fitz and I. Yesterday Agent Ward showed up and today it's you." She says brightly, while moving around the lab organizing papers and stuff.

"And what is May like? AC talked about her some. But I have a feeling she's going to be hard to work with. She seems like a really silent type. Bad-ass, you know. Coulson told me she was really good, that she's really good agent."

"Well, as far as I know she's just a pilot. She didn't really talk to anyone except for Agent Coulson. I understand they worked together a lot in the past. I guess we will find out once we start on some cases." Simmons replies and they stay in comfortable silence for a while.

Skye highly doubts Agent May is here only as a pilot, Hill said she was a specialist. She also wonders how come Jemma doesn't know who she is. But then again, she wouldn't know either if she didn't ask Coulson once what were the other agents at the Hub talking about when she overheard the name Cavalry in a really crazy story involving a horse.

Skye doesn't ask about Agent Ward, Simmons notes. She wanders why that is and is about to ask when the lab door slide open and Ward steps in. Jemma notices the slight tension in Skye's body that wasn't there just a moment ago. Ward doesn't.

"I don't mean to interrupt but Coulson wants us all in the command center. We have a case."

* * *

"What's going to happen to Ace?" She asks as the two of them watch an unconscious Mike Peterson being dragged by May and Ward out of the station.

"He's going to go live with his aunt. She lives near here. I did a background check, and as far as I can tell, he's going to be well taken care of." Coulson says gently, knowing exactly what runs through Skye's head.

She nods slowly. "That's good, he deserves a good home, he's a good kid." She stays quiet for a while, thinking about what she wants to say next. "Is he ever going to see Mike again?"

Coulson sighs. "Mr. Peterson's future is a little more complicated. He's going to be shipped to our research facility. He didn't blow up and we want to know why exactly, and we want to find out as much as we can about the Centipede serum as we can. Hopefully one day he will be able to go home. But that all depends on our assessment of just how dangerous he is or is going to be in the future."

They both head to the SUV and for the whole drive Skye stays silent. It's been a few days since she joined the team and she didn't really have a chance to have a proper conversation with Coulson. She caught herself watching him from time to time, thinking about the day Maria told her he was dead.

* * *

_She's standing behind the counter handing a young girl the coffee she ordered. The girl sends her a smile that Skye returns, and disappears quickly while talking on the phone probably to her boyfriend. When Skye looks to the next person in the line she's more than surprised to see Comander Hill standing in front of her in a dark business suit._

"_Maria, what are you doing here? I would thing you to be busy after what happened in New York."_

"_Skye…" something in her voice makes the younger woman stop. In all the time she had known Agent Hill she had never seen her like this. She looked tired and sad. Normally her face was like a rock. No emotions would ever leek through unless she wanted them to. But now there was no filter. No barrier. _

"_Skye, I need you to come with me. We need to talk." She says sternly, making it clear there is no time to argue._

_Skye just nodded and turned to one of the other waitresses in the deli. She apologized for leaving to the owner, Lindsey, and explained it was urgent. Lindsey just smiled and told her it was ok. Skye never skipped a day at work before and the older woman was quite fond of the young girl. _

_When Maria and Skye exited the deli there was a dark SUV with S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the side waiting for them. They got into the backseat and once Hill gave signal to the driver they were on their way to the Hub. That is the closest S.H.E.L.D. facility Skye knows of._

_Both women stay silent for the whole ride. Skye knows there's something wrong. Not just because of the look on Hill's face but also because of the absence of Agent Phil Coulson. Whenever she was needed for something it was always Coulson who picked her up even if they met up with Maria later. But this time there is no Coulson._

_That makes Skye not want to ask. So she stays quiet because she doesn't want to know._

_Once they are sitting in Hill's field office Skye can't take it anymore._

"_Just say it." She says quietly. Hill looks at her in surprise, so Sky explains. "He's not here and you look like you're about to start crying. Something must have happen to AC. Just say it, please."_

_Maria slowly nods and sits in the chair next to the young woman. _

"_Skye, Phil was severely injured before the battle of New York. He… He didn't make it." She says quietly but firmly. Quiet fills the room. Maria watches the young hacker carefully but her face is unreadable. She just sits there like a statue, frozen witch shock, unmoving. She slowly reaches her hand to touch Skye's arm but the second she makes contact Skye jumps out of the chair and runs out of the office._

"_Skye! Skye, wait!" _

_But she doesn't stop, she keeps running. Skye doesn't know where her legs are taking her until she's standing in the gym. Coulson wanted to make sure she knew how to handle herself so they started to train her. Most of the time, Agent Natalie Walker would train with her. But sometimes Hill or Coulson would take her for a round or two. Skye was glad, Coulson was a good teacher._

_Was._

_Now she's standing here staring at the punching bag. Her breathing comes quickly, eyes burning with unshed tears. She clenches her fists against them but finally, as the first of many tears falls down her cheek, she punches the bag with all her might. She continues despite the pain that radiates up her arms, despite the blood coating her knuckles. The tears keep falling, and she finds herself not able to breathe._

_Skye falls down on her knees, sobbing. She lays down, holding her bloody hands to her chest protectively. _

_She stiffens when a gentle hand touches her shoulder but doesn't pull away._

"_Why does everyone keep leaving?" she chokes out the words she's been wondering for her whole life._

_Marias soft voice rings in her ear. _

"_I don't know."_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I know, what a shock: 2 chapters inn two days! But don't expect me to keep it up, alright? **

**Some of you were askong for some Skimmons moment so here it is. Enjoy and, as always, let me know what you think...**

**hanzoo**

* * *

Skye jerks awake, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. She looks around, momentarily confused on where she is. Then she realizes she's in her bunk on the Bus. She looks to the alarm on her night stand.

2:34.

She lays back down and stares on the ceiling quietly. She went to bed somewhere around eleven last night. That means she had more sleep than usual before nightmare came.

It's been about three months since Skye joined the team and so far they had three cases not including Mike Peterson's case. For this whole time the young hacker tried to interact with the team and get to know them while trying to not reveal much about herself. That's something she mastered at a very young age. It comes handy to know people's abilities or their soft spots while they know practically nothing about you.

Skye gets up and puts on a sports bra, a top and a pair of sweats and heads for the bathroom. Afterwards she makes her way to the kitchen where she grabs a bottle of water and goes down to the cargo bay where she knows hangs a bag from the ceiling.

She puts the water bottle down and goes for the wraps making sure she wraps her hands perfectly. Just the way Coulson once showed her. Once she's standing in front of the bag, she calms her breathing and takes the fighting stance.

Jab. Jab. Jab.

She starts slowly at first but eventually she gets into a faster rhythm. She keeps it steady, her breathing even. Her focus is entirely on the bag in front of her so she doesn't notice the presence that has now joined her until a voice with a cute accent interrupts her concentration.

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

Skye looks up quickly and puts her wrapped hands out to stop the swinging bag from hitting her.

"Simmons. What are you doing here?" she asks as the other woman makes her way down the stairs. She does her best not to notice how adorable Jemma looks when her hair is all messed up from sleeping. Or that she wears really cute slippers with bunny ears. She can't think about her that way because if she does then it's going to go beyond that and that wouldn't be a good thing.

"I was just getting a glass of water when I noticed the door of your bunk was opened and it was empty and then I heard noises from down here and I was curious. And you're avoiding my question."

"And what was your question again?" Skye asks and turns back to the punching bag and starts again with her training.

"I asked you why you weren't sleeping." Simmons says and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Just couldn't sleep, that's all."

Neither of them says anything so now the only sound between them is Skye's breathing and the sound of her fists hitting the leather.

"Is there anything that you need?" Skye asks after a few minutes. Sweat is pouring down her face and it stings as it gets in her eyes. She stops the bag and grabs the bottle and takes a few sips. She looks at the clock on the wall.

2:56.

"No, nothing in particular. I just wanted to ask you something."

Skye looks at her a little suspiciously but nods. "Okay. What do you want to know?"

"Where did you learn how to box?"

Skye raises an eyebrow. _Really, that's what she's asking?_

"A.C. thought me. After I met him he wanted me to be able to take care of myself. I wasn't exactly defenseless before but he wanted to make sure. So whenever he had time or when I was called in to help with anything he would take me to the gym on the base and teach me a few moves. Sometimes Hill helped too. I actually like the punching bag. It calms my nerves. And it does wonders with my abs." Skye grins playfully and loves the laugh that Simmons lets out.

Over the course of the last few weeks the two women have been getting closer. Nothing deep, just little things. They watched a few movies together. Skye liked to watch Simmons work in the lab until Fitz kicked her out one day because she was distracting him.

Jemma told Skye about her family and stories from her childhood. Some of them made Skye smile so big Simmons never wanted those moments to end. But sometimes she saw a flash of emotion cross Skye's face. An emotion she couldn't quite indentify but knew it wasn't positive. Jemma asked her once about her family. Skye never told that to anyone, and she was definitely not going to tell someone she knew for this short period of time. So she just smiled and when she was about to politely refuse to answer, May's voice came through the communication system telling them they had a new mission. _Thank god_, Skye thought back then.

Jemma never asked after that. Until now.

Just as Skye was getting ready to continue with her exercise Simmons spoke up again.

"What's your last name?"

Skye closes her eyes and hits the bag harder than before making Jemma jump. She stops the bag again and turns to the blonde. Simmons looks a little surprised and guilty, Skye realizes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" she starts to apologize but Skye interrupts her quickly by putting her hand up and shaking her head.

"No, it's fine. I'm surprised no one asked before now. I just didn't expect you to ask now, you know. It's three in the morning, you just took me by surprise."

She looks down at her hand and decides it'd been enough boxing considering the time. She starts to unwrap them, while thinking about how to crack the news to Simmons. She's grateful that the older woman keeps quiet and is patient with her.

"I don't have a last name." she says finally and chuckles when she sees the surprise on Jemma's face. "What? Not what you were expecting, huh?"

"Frankly, no. I didn't expect that." She admits.

Skye folds the wrapping tape and puts it down on the bench and sits down, petting the spot next to her telling Jemma to sit down with her.

"I never knew my parents. All I know is that someone left me at an orphanage when I was a baby. St. Agnes. The nuns there gave me a name. And before you ask," Skye smirks as she opens her mouth, "I won't tell you. It's stupid and embarrassing and I don't like it so don't even try. I always hated it so I gave myself a new name. Eventually the nuns grew tired of correcting me and just went with it. So I became Skye."

"So you were at the orphanage your whole life? I mean, I know when you met Coulson you were already living by yourself but before that?"

"Not my whole life, but most of it, I guess. I went through a bunch of foster homes, and I ran away a few times but somehow I always ended up back at St. Agnes. Until I ran away for good when I was seventeen. I had a part time job at the library and we were given a small allowance every two months. I kept all the money, I never bought anything. Most of us did it that way. So once I had enough I just took all my things and I was gone. I bought a small crappy van that became my home." She says the last sentence with a small smile on her lips, remembering her van. It really was small and it really was crappy but it was the most stable home she ever had in her life… considering it was mobile.

Meanwhile Simmons is thinking about what a jerk she is. All the stories she's been telling Skye about her family, happy memories from her childhood. Stories from when she and Fitz attended the academy. Now she finally realizes that the look on Skye's face she couldn't put her finger on, was probably jealousy. Skye never had the things that seem so ordinary and normal to Jemma.

She doesn't say anything, knowing Skye would probably be even more uncomfortable with the conversation than she is now.

"So Skye isn't really your name either?"

Skye barks out a laugh, surprising Simmons and making her smile. She liked Skye like this. Despite the topic of their talk, right now Skye is more relaxed than she was in the last few weeks. The blonde can't help but think how cute the brunette's smile is.

_Cute? What is wrong with me? Don't think like that. You work together. Don't go there._

"Well it is the name on my ID as consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D." She says with a smirk. "It is also the only name you will ever find on me. Even S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't know the name I was given at the orphanage. After I ran away I erased everything. I didn't want anyone to find me."

"But Agent Coulson found you, right?"

"Yeah, I was looking for some info, you know, on me. And I got caught, I made a stupid mistake. I wasn't very happy about it at the time but looking back I'm glad I met A.C."

"I'm glad you did, too." Says Simmons hesitantly. Skye looks at her in surprise, her brows furrowed.

"Why?"

"I would have never met you otherwise." She answers and Skye can't help but think that that was one of the nicest things anyone said to her in a long time. She smiles brightly, matching the blonds smile.

Suddenly she notices the clock behind Jemmas head.

"We should probably try and get some sleep. It's almost half past three. I don't want to explain anything to May if we bump into her while she's doing her morning tai-chi." She giggles and takes Jemmas hand to pull her up with her. They make their way up the stairs and once they reach their bunks Skye stops and point behind herself.

"I'm going to take a quick shower. So, see you tomorrow. Or today I guess." She grins and turns to leave but looks back over her shoulder when she hears her quiet voice as she's trying not to wake up anyone.

"Skye? Thank you."

"For what?" Skye ask confused.

"For trusting me. Fro telling me about yourself. I know you're not exactly the sharing type. And it means a lot to me that you trusted me enough to tell me." She says with a small smile.

Skye doesn't know how to respond so she just smiles and nods.

"Night, Jemma. Sleep well." She says before the door of the bathroom close behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

"It was the Rising tide."

Skye's eyes widen at the name and she immediately looks at Coulson who's looking at her questioningly. The others look confused about their behavior, they all heard about the group before. Ward already a few cases involving the hackers and the rest found out about them in connection to Mike Peterson's case. But the look Coulson is giving Skye right now seems pretty suspicious.

"It wasn't me I swear, AC. I swear, I…" Before she can finish Coulson interrupts her.

"I know, Skye. You left them a long time ago and I know that. I just wanted to ask you if you would be able to trace the hack." He says.

Both are oblivious to the glances exchanged between the others.

"Oh, right. Well, I can try but these guys are good." She says as she starts typing. She's so focused she misses the frown on Ward's, the curiousness on Jemma's or the unreadable expression on May's face. Fitz is just as surprised as everyone else. That much can be told from his blank face.

"Ok, we've got our origin. Austin, Texas." Skye says after a few seconds.

"You got a name?"

"Just a café our hacker worked out of but I'm in the system. I'm gonna check to see if any credit card charges from that mach any known hackers." She keeps typing for about two seconds when a name pops up at the table. A name she knows very well.

She looks up at the big screen and a photo pops up. "It's… Miles Lydon."

"Do you know him?" May asks. But before Skye can answer, Fitz speaks up excitedly and is almost certain she saw May roll her eyes at the interruption.

"I would think every hacker in the world knows him."

"And not just the hacker world. He infiltrated the Kremlin." Simmons supplies.

"Yeah, the picture of a Putin shirtless on a horse back, that was his hack."

"It was also his hack that got Chan kidnapped." Ward says. He's still eyeing Skye suspiciously. Something is not right here.

"Do _you_ know him, Skye?" May asks again this time making sure it's clear who the question is for.

Skye slowly nods, not looking anyone in the eye. "Yeah, he's the one who brought me in. But he's a pacifist. I never thought he would be capable of something like this."

"Find him and fast." Coulson says looking at Skye and Fitzsimmons. All three nod.

"May, change course for Austin." He says but May is already typing something on a tablet.

"Done."

The two scientists go down to the lab while the hacker remains standing at the control panel. Coulson leaves and heads for his office closely followed by Ward and May heads back to the cockpit after a few seconds of staring intently at the young woman who tried very hard not to look at her.

Skye keeps typing, determined to find Miles and to proof to Coulson and the team she's not with the Tide anymore. She knows there will be questions sooner than later and she's going to have to answer them, or let Coulson answer them. Normally she wouldn't but when she accepted the offer to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. she did it with the intention to stick around, to find a place to belong. And you can't belong somewhere you're not trusted.

Finally after about ten minutes Skye finds who she's looking for. She knew Miles for over two years and that knowledge helped her a lot. She found camera footage and followed him through the streets of Austin until she found him entering an apartment. After making sure she has found the right place she heads to Coulson's office to let him know.

When she's nearly there she lifts her hand to knock before entering but stops abruptly. The door is slightly opened and she can hear voices from inside.

"Sir, with all due respect, how can you know she's not with them anymore?" She hears Ward say. _What the hell?_

"Agent Ward, I've known Skye for a long time. She was out of that world even before she met me and I trust her. If you have a problem with my decision of Skye being here then it's just too bad, because she's not going anywhere."

"A long time? Twenty years is a long time not three. How do you know you can trust her?"

Skye stiffens at the words. _What if Coulson listens to him? What if he won't trust me anymore. I don't have anyone else, he can't not trust me. No, he can't. If AC won't trust me than no one will._ Her breathing starts to come quickly, she can feel panic rising.

But as quickly as it came, Skye feels it disappear again when she hears the next words leaving Coulson's mouth

"Agent Ward, that is enough! Know you don't like this but it is not up to you. It is my responsibility and my decision and I say that Skye can be trusted and therefore she's staying and there's nothing you can do about it. Now go down to the lab and tell Fitzsimmons to give whatever equipment they came up with."

When Skye hears footsteps getting closer to the door she quickly knocks and opens the door trying to play it off as if she just got there.

"Oh sorry, am I interrupting anything?" she asks, acting innocent and as far as she can tell Ward didn't notice anything but one look at Coulson tells her he didn't buy it. _Damn, he knows me so well._

"No, everything's fine."

Coulson stands from behind his desk and motions for Ward to leave the room. The Agent hesitates, his suspicious eyes linger on Skye for a moment longer, but eventually he nods quickly and leaves as instructed.

"So, did you find anything?" he asks.

"Um, yeah. I hacked the camera feed in the area around the café, and I found out where he lives. I checked the address and it fits."

Coulson nods and pushes a button on the intercom. "May, Skye found him. How much time till we land in Austin?"

Mays serious voice comes from the speaker. "We're twenty five minutes out."

Coulson looks back at Skye. "Ok, let's get ready."

The young woman nods and turns to head out of the office.

"And Skye?" she turns around with her hand on the handle. "I do trust you." He says firmly while looking her right in the eye to make sure she knows he means it. And she does. She nods with a small smile and leaves.

* * *

"I want Skye to go in."

They're all standing in the command center watching on the big screen as Miles sits in the interrogation room. But at his words, all heads, except for May, snap up to look at Coulson in shock and confusion.

"What?" Skye asks while Ward starts to protest at the same time.

"But sir…"

"Stop right there, both of you. You are going in there Skye, because you know him. You know the way he thinks and you can get him to tell us what we need to know. Right now we are on the clock and we need to make sure we don't lose any more time."

Everyone stays quiet this time, while Skye and Coulson are staring at each other. Finally she nods curtly and heads for the interrogation room. "Yes sir."

As she's walking past Coulson, he stops by touching her arm. "You'll be fine Skye, you have all the information we found, you have good instincts but most importantly, you know who you're dealing with. Use that."

* * *

Miles looks up when she enters the room and Skye can't help but smirk at the look of surprise on his face.

"Skye? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to ask you some questions." She says simply.

"So you are with S.H.I.E.L.D. now? You joined the organization that does everything we stand for?" he asks incredulously.

"_You_ stand for, Miles. I never shared your interests. Now, let's talk business. Who did you sent that information to?"

"What are you…"

"Don't play dumb, Miles. We have your bank records. We know about the checks, so you can stop pretending."

"How have you been, Skye?" he asks ignoring her question.

"We're not here to bond again or talk about the old times or whatever you thing this is!" she says loudly, to gain his attention. She drops her hands on the table and leans closer to the man. "We're here because the information you sold gave some really bad guys what they needed and allowed them to kidnap a guy. An innocent man might die for money, Miles. So stop wasting precious time and help yourself but telling me right now, who did you sell the information?"

"I…I didn't know, I swear Skye." Miles stutters.

"And what did you think would happen, Miles? No one with good intentions would pay that much money for information. Now talk!"

* * *

In the command center May and Coulson are standing next to each other, arms folded on their chests, silently watching. As soon as Mr. Lydon starts talking and giving them useful information Coulson smiles proudly.

"She's good." May says, her voice betraying nothing.

Coulson nods. "She learned from the best." He turns to look at May, sees her raising her eyebrow at him and chuckles. "From what I've seen so far, everything she used, Maria and I also used on her when we interrogated her three years ago."

"So by 'the best' you meant Maria, right?" then they catch a piece of the conversation on the screen.

"_It was harmless. Some ecological research on insects."_

"_Insects?"_

"_Yeah, some study with centipedes. What can be more innocent than that?"_

* * *

Coulson is on his way to give Miles the bracelet when he runs in to Skye in the hallway.

"Hay, AC. Can we talk for a minute once you're done?"

Coulson frouns, not sure if he'll like what is to come or not. "Sure, wait for me in my office? It'll be only a minute."

She nods and goes up the stairs while he continues on his way to tag the dog.

When he enters his office Skye is sitting on a chair in front of his desk.

"So, am I going to hate what you're about to say?" he asks, making her chuckle.

"No, at least I think you're not, since it's regarding that offer you gave me a few years ago."

Coulson stays silent in shock but finally shakes his head to gain control again. "Wow, I didn't expect that. I would have thought you would ask once you got here. Why now?"

"Well, I needed to know this, me being here, will last, you know? And after what happened yesterday with Ward… I don't want anyone to think I'm not taking this seriously." She finishes quickly before Coulson can interrupt.

"You know I know you are, right?" he asks to which Skye only nods with a smile. "So, who? You can pick. It's your lucky day." He smirks.

"May, if that's ok. I mean if she's ok with it."

"Do you want me to ask her?"

"No, that's ok." She looks at the ancient clock on the leader's desk. "We have ten more minutes before take-off so I'll go talk to her now." She says and at his conforming nod leaves the room.

Skye knocks at the door of the cockpit and enters. It's silent, but of course it's only May in there. The pilot is sitting in the pilot chair just staring out of the windshield.

"Agent May, can I talk to you for a sec?" no reaction, only a slight tilt of the head to the right, signaling she heard her. Then she lifts a hand, motioning to the co-pilot's chair.

Skye sits down and turns to the older woman.

"Um, well about two years ago, AC made me an offer to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and I refused. I wasn't ready and I didn't fully trust him at the time. But that changed and now I want to contribute to the missions and to the agency more than just with my hacking skills. I talked to AC and I was wondering… if maybe you would be willing to train me. Be my S.O."

May doesn't even move. She doesn't look at Skye, doesn't answer and Skye feel her shoulders sag. Right why should things change?

"Ok, sorry to bother you." She gets up and quickly heads for the door when May's quiet voice stops her.

"Tomorrow, five a.m. in your workout clothes in the cargo bay. Don't be late."


End file.
